Search

Objective: To evaluate cost-effectiveness of brentuximab vedotin in patients with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma who have received autologous stem cell transplantation, from a Scottish healthcare payer perspective. Methods: A Microsoft Excel-based partitioned survival model comprising three health states (progression-free survival [PFS], post-progression survival, and death) was developed. Relevant comparators were chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy (C/R) and C/R with intent to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT). Data were obtained from the pivotal phase II single-arm trial in 102 patients (SG035-0003; NCT00848926), a systematic literature review and clinical expert opinions (where empirical evidence was unavailable). PFS and overall survival for brentuximab vedotin were estimated using 5-year follow-up data from SG035-0003, and extrapolated using event rates observed for comparator treatments from published survival data. Resource use included drug acquisition and administration; alloSCT; treatment of adverse events; and long-term follow-up. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate the impact of uncertainty. Results: In the base case, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for brentuximab vedotin was £38,769 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) vs C/R, whereas C/R with intent to alloSCT was dominated by brentuximab vedotin. ICERs for brentuximab vedotin generated by the deterministic sensitivity analysis ranged between £32,000–£54,000 per QALY. Including productivity benefits reduced the ICER to £28,881 per QALY. Limitations: Limitations include lack of comparative data from this single arm study and the heterogeneous population. Inconsistent baseline characteristic reporting across studies prevented complete assessment of heterogeneity and the extent of potential bias in clinical and cost-effectiveness estimates. Conclusions: Although the base case ICER is above the threshold usually applied in Scotland, it is relatively low compared with other orphan drugs, and lower than the ICER generated using a previous data cut of SG035-0003 that informed a positive recommendation from the Scottish Medicines Consortium, under its decision-making framework for assessment of ultra-orphan medicines.

19 Background: In 2015, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) made a positive recommandation for brentuximab vedotin (BV) in patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) who have received autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) based on 3-year follow-up data from the pivotal phase 2 single-arm trial (SG035-0003; NCT00848926). At 3-years, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for brentuximab vedotin compared with chemotherapy +/- radiotherapy (C/R) was £43,731 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY). This study re-evaluated the cost-effectiveness analysis with 5-year follow-up data from the pivotal trial. Methods: A partitioned survival model was developed using a Scottish health system perspective over a lifetime time-horizon. Three health states were evaluated: progression-free survival (PFS), post-progression survival, and death. The relevant comparators were C/R, or C/R with intent to allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Clinical outcomes (PFS and overall survival [OS]) for BV were estimated based on data from the pivotal trial in 102 patients. A naïve comparison with the specified comparators was conducted using published survival data. ICERs were calculated with measures of the clinical outcomes, direct costs and QALYs. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate the robustness of the model. Results: The 5-year follow-up data reduced the base case ICER for BV from £43,731 to £38,769 per QALY versus C/R and increased the probability of cost-effectiveness. The variation in ICER for BV generated by the deterministic sensitivity analyses was also reduced resulting from reduced uncertainty in the estimation of long term clinical outcomes. Conclusions: This update has strengthened the cost-effectiveness evidence for BV in patients with R/R HL post-ASCT. The 5-year follow-up has reduced the uncertainty in the long term outcomes and reduced the ICER, which is low in comparison to other treatments for orphan diseases approved by UK agencies. BV may therefore represent a cost-effective treatment option for this patient group.

18 Background: Systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (sALCL) is a rare T-cell lymphoma. For patients who fail front-line therapy, outcomes are poor and there is no current defined standard of care. Brentuximab vedotin has demonstrated high objective response rates and is approved for patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) sALCL. However, the cost-effectiveness of brentuximab vedotin compared with conventional chemotherapy has not been explored. Methods: A lifetime Excel-based partitioned survival model was used to compare survival outcomes from the pivotal phase-2 single-arm brentuximab vedotin trial of 58 R/R sALCL patients with good Eastern Corporative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status after one or more prior therapies (SG035-0004); with 40 sALCL patients from a Canadian cancer registry receiving first-line conventional salvage chemotherapy (65% with ECOG 0 or 1) between 1980 and 2012 and followed for up to 20 years. Extrapolation of brentuximab vedotin survival after the trial period assumed the same rate of change as for conventional chemotherapy. A United Kingdom National Health Service perspective was adopted. Costs included drug acquisition and administration, and medical care for adverse events and pre- and post-progression. Utility values elicited by response and by progression, and disutilities associated with adverse events were applied to estimate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Results: The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for brentuximab vedotin was £35,390 per QALY gained versus conventional chemotherapy. ICERs were between £28,112 and £61,921 across a range of alternative model assumptions. Comparing only first-line salvage patients in both groups reduced the ICER to £26,766. Conversely, considering only patients with good ECOG performance status increased the ICER to £38,186. Using probabilistic sensitivity analysis, at willingness-to-pay of £38,000, the probability that brentuximab vedotin is cost-effective was > 50%. Conclusions: Brentuximab vedotin may represent a cost-effective intervention compared to conventional chemotherapy for this patient population with limited therapeutic options.

Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of brentuximab vedotin in patients with R/R sALCL from a UK NHS perspective. Methods: A partitioned survival model used clinical outcomes for brentuximab vedotin from the pivotal phase-2 single-arm trial of brentuximab vedotin in 58 patients with R/R sALCL (SG035-0004; NCT00866047), over a lifetime (30-year) time horizon. Comparison with conventional chemotherapy was based on data from the Canadian British Columbia Cancer Agency registry from 40 patients starting salvage chemotherapy after front-line treatment between 1980 and 2012. Survival was extrapolated using parametric distributions, with brentuximab vedotin risk after the trial period assumed equal to conventional chemotherapy. Other modelling assumptions were based on a systematic literature review and clinical expert opinion. Results: Based on statistical extrapolation, brentuximab vedotin was associated with 3.1 years longer duration in the progression-free survival health state and an overall survival improvement of 5.4 years, prior to discounting. In addition, brentuximab vedotin was associated with 2.5 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained at a total incremental cost of £88 556, resulting in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of approximately £35 400. Sensitivity analyses of alternative model assumptions provided ICERs ranging from approximately £28 100 to £61 900. Comparing only first-line salvage patients reduced the ICER to £26 800 per QALY gained. Conversely, considering only patients with Eastern Corporative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1 increased the ICER to approximately £38 200. At a willingness-to-pay threshold of £50 000, the estimated probability that brentuximab vedotin is cost-effective compared with conventional chemotherapy was 86.5%. Conclusion: Compared to conventional chemotherapy, and considering the full survival period, brentuximab vedotin may provide a valuable treatment choice for patients with R/R sALCL, a population with limited therapeutic options.